Dressed in a
orange jumpsuit and with his hands shackled, cricket tycoon Sir Allen
Stanford arrived at court today to face allegations he masterminded a
£4.2billion fraud.

The 59-year-old Texas billionaire is expected
to claim he is innocent of running a giant Ponzi scheme when he apears
before a judge.

Stanford and three executives from his now defunct Houston-based Stanford Financial Group face a 21-count charge sheet.

In shackles: Allen Stanford arrives at the federal courthouse in Houston, Texas, to deny 21 charges of fraud

U.S. Magistrate Judge Frances Stacy is expected to decide if he will be allowed out on bail pending his trial.

Stanford was arrested in Virginia on June 18, hours after he was indicted in Houston.

He
was returned to Texas on Tuesday and is being held in the Montgomery
County Jail in Conroe, located just north of Houston, according to his
attorney Dick DeGuerin.

Stanford had tried to turn himself in to
federal authorities in the months before his indictment. But
authorities couldn't take him into custody until charges were filed.

Each of the most serious counts Stanford faces carry prison terms of up to 20 years.

Orange crushed: Stanford pictured in his new attire

Indicted
Stanford executives Laura Pendergest-Holt, Gilberto Lopez and Mark
Kuhrt were also set to enter pleas during Thursday's hearing before
Stacy.

The billionaire and the executives are accused of
orchestrating a massive fraud by misusing most of the £4.2billion they
advised clients to invest in certificates of deposit from the Stanford
International Bank, based on the Caribbean island of Antigua.

Also
indicted but still not in custody is Leroy King, the former chief
executive officer of Antigua's Financial Services Regulatory Commission.